JTHVETTE

I was wanting to know if I put 285/40-17 tires on all four wheels would it create any problems? I have "A-mold" 9.5" x 17" wheels on all four corners.This is a '96 coupe LT1 w/auto. I would like to do this for the purpose of rotating the tires. Please advise.

Thanks,
JTHVETTE

ToyC4

your car might be a little more likely to hydroplane in wet conditions or to follow grooves in the road but other than that I don't see any issues unless the front tire might rub a little on the plastic when turned all the way

STEVEN13

They will fit just fine.

vader86

I dont see any major problems with that.

Corvette Kid

285s won't rub at all. I know someone running 315s in the front and they only rub when turned to lock.

AORoads

"...your car might be a little more likely to hydroplane in wet conditions or to follow grooves in the road..."

Why would they hydro or follow grooves more? You mean simply because of more tire surface in contact with the road? I don't get that one. Typically, you hydro due to suspension geometry (not as strong a reason), worn tread, and tire design. Plz explain your reasoning. I'm interested.

As to whether it's ok to use larger, 285 tires up front, I'd agree with the above posters; I've talked with a few owners who have larger tires on the front than stock. No rubs or other problems. Presume this also means you'll get non--directional, non-asymetric tires so you can do a full, modified criss-cross rotation which is the most life-extending method.

Drive on and enjoy.

ToyC4

This is just something I've learned from experience... I've owned a lot of sports cars and sometimes by going to a wider tire on a light car you can end up with these results.

Corvette Kid

One of the reasons they went to the smaller 255/45s on the standard suspension LT1s in later years was to cut down on wandering on grooved roads. I've run those, 275s and 285s on the front and the larger ones do increase this tendency somewhat. It's also common knowledge that for a given tire design, the wider they are, the greater the possibility of hydroplaning.

His93C4

I don't have 285s but I do have 275s all the way around on 9.5" rims. No problem whatsoever. One of the reasons that Chevrolet went to 255s on the front was that they wanted to introduce more understeer at the limit. They could do this with the smaller tire.

BrianCunningham

My 335's on all 4

aboatguy

To keep it simple when it comes to hydroplaning wider tire = more surface area which makes it easier for the water to lift your tire from the road! Same reason why lowering your airpressure in soft sand helps stop the tendency of your car digging in and burying itself in the sand.

kittmaster

Got em on mine, no issues runs great!

Chris

AORoads

Well, maybe it has more to do with suspension geometry than I thought re wandering on grooved roads (I presume we're talking about that kind of road surface). In another car, I had 235-45-17s all around, rwd, 3745 lb. car.

The stock, Bridgestone Potenza RE-030 didn't wander. Replacement of all 4 with same size Bridgestone S02 Pole Positions didn't wander. Replacement with S03 Pole Positions, same size, were crazy with wandering--almost to the point of unsafe.

New set, same model tire, given to me by Bridgestone wandered less. New set Sumitomo HTR+, no wander at all on grooved highways.

All of these tires were absolutely solid in rain at very high speeds. True, I never went to larger sizes...I accept that a larger size might very well have caused hydroplaning in the wet. But wander seems to be a different story.

ToyC4

it's directly related to how much your tires grip the road, I notice it whenever I'm driving to and from the track on my race tires.

ToyC4

that is so sweet

Daniel DK

do you have a shot with the hood up?

JTHVETTE

I would agree that there may be an increase in the possibility of "hydroplaning" due to the increase in tire width. I was mainly concerened about interference with the suspension. The car came with Nitto 555's on it. The person I bought it from had a new 285/40-17 tire that he gave me. Since I need to replace the front tires only, this would allow me to use this tire on front. Does anyone see a problem with this?

JTHVETTE

jrp

I think the advice given so far says no. I'll just chime in to add that I also have this size on all 4 wheels and have no problems. The tendency to follow grooves is much greater than with the 255's in front, but I don't even notice it anymore.

edit - The 285's in fron also look cool as heck.

kopbet89c4

Holy God! I bet if you drove those wide a$$ tires in the highway, they would follow every line on the road that semi trucks make when they scrape. Does this setup wander in the highway as people claim? I'd like to try 315s all around one day and see for myself. I bet this is a killer setup for autoX events!!

BrianCunningham